News

2019 Freight Predictions ‘murky’

by
Anna Mischke
| May 25, 2018

The remainder of 2018 looks as if it will remain strong for trucking according to industry analysts. However, next year’s predictions are less clear. FTR chairman and CEO, Eric Starks, has spoken out about potential concerns for the coming year and that markets are feeling a degree of uncertainty surrounding economic conditions, particularly those relying heavily on political outcomes.

Ambiguity around a potential trade war with China, revocation of participation in the Iran Deal, the rising federal deficit, and backing out of the North American Free trade Agreement (NAFTA) are all points of concern for Starks. He told a group of fleet executives at the Heavy Duty trucking Exchange mid-May that President Trump pulling out of NAFTA “scares me to death, because NAFTA has a huge impact on your business.”

While Starks expressed concern surrounding potential negative factors, he did outline trends that continue to lead the trucking market upward. He called out manufacturing as a growing attribute in that “business activity related to consumer goods is showing a healthy, growing trend”. Additionally, the “demand is very strong in the weekly spot market” while existing home and automobile sales continue to remain robust.

Starks urges industry stakeholders to stay watchful and informed on a few specific topics over the next five years including additive manufacturing or 3D printing, electric vehicles, and blockchain and assured that autonomous vehicles will continue to gain prominence as new technology develops in the coming years.